The Lyme Nursery Ltd

The Lyme Nursery Ltd Lyme Nursery School, Westfield, Lancaster Road, NEWCASTLE, Staffordshire, ST5 1DS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15/07/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The quality of teaching is good. Staff use effective questioning skills to enhance children's thinking and extend their learning through fun and challenging activities.  Children have an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves healthy, both physically and emotionally. They understand the need for exercise and how this impacts on their bodies, and they are aware of what they need to stay healthy.  Children are well prepared for their next stages of learning, and discussions around moving to school support this well. Children are encouraged to talk about their feelings, and staff ensure the children are aware of who they can talk to, should the need arise.  Recruitment processes are robust and ensure that safeguarding is a priority. As a result, children are kept safe and protected from harm.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Assessments are not always evaluated effectively against the expected levels of achievement for children's learning and development.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed interactions between the staff and the children during play.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed documentation including policies and procedures, staff personnel files, Disclosure and Barring Service records and children's developmental journals.  The inspector spoke to and sought the view of parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the owner, the manager, members of staff and the children.

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Information about the setting

The Lyme Nursery School was registered with its present owner in 1997 and re-registered as the Lyme Nursery Ltd in 2014. It is on the Early Years Register and is situated in a converted Victorian house in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from four rooms set over two storeys and there is a large enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery currently employs 10 members of childcare staff and also has a supernumerary manager. Nine staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, one also has a foundation degree and two have level 4 qualifications in management. A cook, a cleaner and administrative staff are also employed. The nursery opens Monday to Friday for 51 weeks a year. Sessions are from 7am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 65 children on roll who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early

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Information about the setting

education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. It supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 enhance the already good assessment process to include an evaluation of the children's learning and development against the expected levels of achievement, in order to ensure that timely interventions are sought, should any gaps occur.

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who attend

The staff have a good understanding of child development. This is used to provide children with a range of adult-led and child-initiated activities that are based around their interests. Effective planning systems ensure that all seven areas of learning are covered and support children in their learning and development. Staff demonstrate a very good understanding of the children's learning and development needs and use this to ensure planned activities are challenging and fun. As a result, children are eager and motivated to learn. Developmental journals contain a good range of observations, assessments and initial entry information from parents. Staff talk confidently about the regular assessments they complete to ensure that children are progressing well towards the early learning goals. However, assessment information is not effectively evaluated against expected levels of achievement, resulting in them not always being precise. The progress check for

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who attend

children aged between two and three years is completed and shared with parents.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good and staff have high expectations of the children in their care. Children are given time to explore and experiment in their play and seek out others to share experiences. Staff demonstrate good understanding of when to let children learn together to enhance and support their prior learning. For example, a group of young children use their imagination when playing with fire engines. Staff observe the children but do not intervene as they build on their play together, making sounds for the fire engine and working together to put the fire out. Children support each other's learning through sharing ideas and talking about where the fire is and who needs to help. Children are provided with a rich learning environment and are supported by staff who use effective questioning skills to extend children's learning.

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who attend

Resources are accessible for children to make their own choices and become active learners. This supports children's independence, personal, social and emotional development. Communication skills are supported through the introduction of new vocabulary, effective questioning and demonstrations to support and develop children's understanding. Young children are confident to share personal experiences with others. For example, during action songs and rhymes, children recall holidays and travelling on aeroplanes as they sing an aeroplane song. Staff talk to children during their play to enhance language and encourage them to share ideas. Children are introduced to other languages, such as French and Italian, and are able to count in French. Literacy skills are supported well with the older children as they participate in regular activities that are based around phonics and letter recognition. As a result, children are well prepared for

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who attend

their move to school as they are able to spell their names using phonetic sounds and are beginning to segment sounds and blend them together. Children understand key information about books, such as the author writes the story and the illustrator draws the pictures. Children are introduced to mathematics through everyday routines and activities, such as counting and comparing size during play. For example, while playing on climbing equipment, children are encouraged to count the steps and staff question them about the different sizes of equipment.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

An effective key-person system and tailor made settling-in processes ensure that children develop secure attachments. Children are happy, settled and confident in their environment. Children's independence is promoted through children having access to resources and activities that are based around their interests and needs. Children have a good understanding of boundaries and expectations for the setting. As a result, they are well behaved, use good manners and show respect for each other and the staff. Children are developing an understanding of empathy and the needs of others, and respond appropriately. For example, older children offer comfort and support to younger children who are upset by giving them toys which are important to them. As a result, children are forming caring friendships with their peers. Younger children are supported by staff to develop their understanding of taking turns and sharing resources. Staff use questioning

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

and role modelling to promote this area. The flexibility of the baby and toddler rooms supports younger children to prepare for their next stage of learning. For example, at times they join together to provide older babies with opportunities to learn and play with older children. As a result, the babies are confident in their environment and explore activities both inside and outdoors.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children have access to a range of healthy snacks and meals that are prepared on site. Mealtimes are social occasions with staff and children sitting together discussing the morning or other topics that arise. Staff ensure that children understand the need for physical exercise and why it is important to have a healthy diet. For example, during physical activities, staff question the children about how their bodies are changing and why. The children are aware that they need exercise, food and rest to be healthy and that what they eat gives them energy to enable them to play. Children are regularly encouraged to think about how they can keep themselves and others safe. For example, the pre-school room is situated on the first floor, and children are questioned and reminded about what they need to do to safely get up and down the stairs. The children are aware of the need to hold the banister, walk slowly and not push each other.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Staff ensure that older children are emotionally supported and prepared for their move to school. For example, at circle time the staff and children discuss how children feel about starting school life. Staff talk to the children about feeling scared and anxious and ensure that they are aware of who they can to talk to should they feel the need. Staff share school routines and these are compared to the setting's routines to support children's understanding of the differences and similarities. School staff visit the children in the setting to support the relationship building process. As a result, children are confident and talk freely about school visits and how excited they are to be starting school.

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provision

The manager ensures that all relevant documentation is in place and updated regularly. Policies and procedures are robust and reviewed regularly. Staff demonstrate a good awareness of safeguarding procedures and how to ensure children are kept safe and protected from harm. As part of the safeguarding procedures, the manager welcomes parents into the building at key times, to ensure she is aware who is on the premises at all times. The setting achieved the first Staffordshire Investors in People award in 2000 and has maintained its three yearly recognition, the most recent assessment being in 2012, and this supports fairness and equality within the workforce. Self-evaluation takes into account the views of staff through regular team meetings, communication and supervision sessions. Parents' views are sought through regular questionnaires, daily communication and feedback at parents' evenings. Should parents give a low score on a questionnaire,

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provision

the setting will request further feedback to help improve areas that parents raise concerns about. Children contribute through circle time discussions and feed back from activities. The setting distributes questionnaires to all potential parents following a tour of the setting; this helps them to evaluate what parents think about the setting in order for them to make improvements.

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provision

The delivery of the learning programmes is monitored by room leaders and is overseen by the manager to ensure all areas of the curriculum are covered. The setting has recently introduced staff monitoring of each other to ensure that practice is strong and improvements can be made. Staff have access to regular appraisals and supervision sessions. These focus on training, professional development and support the staff may need to fulfil their role. Recruitments procedures are robust. The manager, setting owner and senior staff are involved in the process to ensure that candidates can bring improvements to the team. The setting has a low staff turnover with many staff being employed for over 10 years. They have successfully used apprenticeship schemes to build a strong workforce.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are good. Information is shared with parents through newsletters and daily communication. Parents share information regarding children's learning at home to support staff in planning suitable activities that meet the needs of children. Parents comment that the setting is brilliant, their children love attending and that they share information regarding their child's developments regularly. Partnerships with external agencies and other providers are established, and teachers from local schools visit children in the setting prior to moving.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement action. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY474854 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 953473 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 41 Number of children on roll 65 Name of provider The Lyme Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01782 616188

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Setting details

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises, which are usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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